A Shift in Thinking: Live (Almost) Shamelessly

I had an epiphany last night while I was laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, in that ‘almost asleep’ state where you can’t quite rustle up the energy you need to move to your actual bed.

As I laid there tucked into the crease of my overstuffed couch, in full relaxation mode, I thought: What if we embraced our imperfections? What if we let them make our lives richer?

I think it started when I spent the other weekend with my big half-Irish, half-Italian family (we tend to claim the Italian side). Over three days of long conversations, big dinners, Frank Sinatra, laughs, stories that involved way too much disclosure, and a little too much wine, I found myself feeling oddly comfortable, and very much at home with everything that made me me.

I’m normally happy in my own skin, but out of town, and away from my couch (yes, I love my couch too much) and my usual day-to-day routine, everything felt comfortable.

Which, for a homebody like myself, doesn’t happen very often.

I learned a lot about my family, their childhood adventures with each other, the rebellious teen years, big mistakes, and even near death experiences (crazy, I know)- while they laughed, and hugged, and seemed so in tune with themselves.

They talked about the past with pride and love. There was no holding back (okay, there was a tiny bit of holding back, but not much).

All of them are now thriving adults, who are some of the happiest people I know (I’m starting to realize this is where I get my undying optimism from), and I think it’s because they embrace each past mistake as a badge of honor that brought them to where they are today.

There’s no shame, no regret, just past experience that makes today even better.

It made me realize that we should all be like this. We shouldn’t be embarrassed about past ‘mistakes’, or have regrets. Do what makes you happy, make stupid decisions. Being part of this ‘no holds barred’ weekend made me feel that I could be my genuine self without judgement.

Now I could also be wrong.

I could confront my family with my unfounded views about this weekend, and they might laugh and say I’m far from the truth and completely misjudged the entire weekend. However, I don’t think they even realize how different their dynamic is from most social groups. There’s a ‘no-drama, anything goes, acceptance for anyone around me’ vibe that is unusual and welcome.

I could go on and on.

That weekend was a great experience- and a great social experiment- and I think it helped to shed some light on the best of humanity and the way to a rich, meaningful life.
Live shamelessly, and live happy.